KiOR’s CEO Rob Van Der Meij told us earlier this month that KiOR’s “biomass catalytic cracking process” — a thermochemical process that produces biocrude from grass, wood and plant waste that can then be refined — has significantly lower capital costs compared with other biomass conversion technologies. In 2008, the company hopes to prove the economics of its technology with a pilot plant. Ultimately the hope is to license the technology to customers like oil refineries and feedstock owners.